Grilling Steak

Originally Posted by edmorel

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Skirt steak for dinner tonight, a cut I rarely eat but when I am eating it I always ask myself, why don't I eat this more often?

Oh, it's a skirt steak. Jesus Ed, you had me freaked for a minute as this reminded me of that demented fellow in Germany(?) who cut off his own....

Originally Posted by GoSurface

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I think I'm the only one that likes any red meat well done.

nah; i'm with you on that one. dont care for too much blood in my food

These are starting to get old...
















PSYCH! But, I have once again overdone this one a little bit (still very good, but not just right). I keep forgetting how thin they are. I learned a couple more tips today from the experience:

Don't stretch the steak out over the grill - it cooks faster and throws off your timing, but more importantly it opens up the fibers and lets the juices out (see plate). When you put the steak down don't grab it by one end and let it stretch out - this one stretched probably .75" while putting it on, and I wasn't really thinking about it. Bad.

That upper rack in the grill is a great place to put a plate(s) just as the steak is finishing up - move it onto the plate, turn off the grill, and when you pull it out a minute later the plate will be very warm and keep your steak from getting cold.

If you like rarer steak with a good crust, try not to buy thin steaks. Difficult at the grocery store. Another option would be to pull it out of the fridge and not let it fully warm to room temp before putting it on, but this seems iffy to me so I haven't tried it.

Originally Posted by j

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These are starting to get old...

PSYCH! But, I have once again overdone this one a little bit (still very good, but not just right). I keep forgetting how thin they are. I learned a couple more tips today from the experience:

Don't stretch the steak out over the grill - it cooks faster and throws off your timing, but more importantly it opens up the fibers and lets the juices out (see plate). When you put the steak down don't grab it by one end and let it stretch out - this one stretched probably .75" while putting it on, and I wasn't really thinking about it. Bad.

That upper rack in the grill is a great place to put a plate(s) just as the steak is finishing up - move it onto the plate, turn off the grill, and when you pull it out a minute later the plate will be very warm and keep your steak from getting cold.

If you like rarer steak with a good crust, try not to buy thin steaks. Difficult at the grocery store. Another option would be to pull it out of the fridge and not let it fully warm to room temp before putting it on, but this seems iffy to me so I haven't tried it.

One other tip, don't cut your meat as soon as it comes off the grill. Give it about 3-4 minutes to let the juices settle and for it to finish cooking. You'll get a lot less loss of "juice" and the steak will be more tender.

Yeah, I didn't - that's just from sitting on the plate for a couple of minutes.

I usually let my steaks sit on a warm (hot, really) plate covered in two layers of foil for a good 7-10 minutes. Of course, to do this you want to take 'em off the fire a little sooner, but it gives me time to put the rest of the **** together. Plus I find the extra time actually does increase juice retention. IMHO about 10 minutes is where the benefits of letting steaks sit drop off.

From a technical point of view letting a just-cooked piece of meat sit on a plate is a really bad idea. What happens is that one side cools faster than the other and you end up with a steak that is not as good as it could be. Even worse is to wrap it in foil which causes the meat to steam in its own juices and the crust to be lost.

The correct way to do it is to put a rack on top of a cookie sheet and let the steak cool on that. This way the air can circulate all around and you will get a more evenly cooked, better tasting piece of meat.

Also important is to salt and pepper both before and after grilling.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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From a technical point of view letting a just-cooked piece of meat sit on a plate is a really bad idea. What happens is that one side cools faster than the other and you end up with a steak that is not as good as it could be. Even worse is to wrap it in foil which causes the meat to steam in its own juices and the crust to be lost.

The correct way to do it is to put a rack on top of a cookie sheet and let the steak cool on that. This way the air can circulate all around and you will get a more evenly cooked, better tasting piece of meat.


I've done it both ways and never noticed a significant difference, but I'm no grill master so my starting product probably isn't finnessed enough, if you will, for that to make a difference.

Hmm, good to know. Next time maybe I'll put it directly on the upper rack of the grill (grill turned off) and let it sit there with the lid open for the couple of minutes before dishing up.

that is even better because the left over warmth will make it so that the cooling is not quite as rapid and the juices will become more even throughout the meat.

A few of my thoughts, some already mentioned. I don't claim to be an expert but I have cooked a ton of steak a ton of different ways.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different cuts of meat, dry rubs/marinades, and different levels of 'done'. I see way too many friends limit themselves with the same old thing.

Clean the grill before grilling with a metal scraper, and then follow that up by a quick once-over with a paper towel that's been dipped in a little oil. This will help with a few things but mostly will ensure you get those great, even grill marks.

Speaking of grill marks- put the steak on and let it sit for about 3 minutes, then rotate it 90 degrees. Do the same thing when you flip it; aside from that, there's no need to touch it until you take it off the grill.

You learn to tell how done a steak is over time with the finger poking method; if you want to be exact though, a meat thermometer is a must. Most people check it way too early though and end up poking holes everywhere.

There is no need to let a steak get to room temp before grilling it. There is no appreciable difference in cooking time, and all decent steak restaurants I know of go from fridge to grill.

As good as it can be and as fun as it is to cook steak at home, steak is one of the few things that the home cook has a hard time matching the restaurant cook. The best places have hell temperature ovens and grills that can sear like nobody's business. Even most of the best home grills are no match unfortunately.

Not to totally slam your post, because I agree with some of your points, but a few counter perspectives:

Considering my fridge is set at about 35 degrees, I think the difference in a thick steak would be significant if I just pulled it out and slapped it on the grill. If the steaks were frozen, I usually have to pull them out just to get them to thaw all the way. For a thin one it might not matter as much, or might even be better to go quickly from fridge to grill.

To be honest I have never had a restaurant steak, even at up to $50-60 a pop that could compare with the best results I've gotten on my home grill. Maybe I've never been to a really good steakhouse, but I've been to quite a few of the ones that claim to be.

Also, leaving any steak on 3 minutes and not flipping it would murder it IMO. I don't care if the grill lines look nice personally, but if I really did I would rotate it after maybe 1 minute, then flip after another minute. For most steaks more than 3-4 minutes total on the first side is way too much IMO unless they are ultra thick or your grill is set low.

I don't have a BBQ but I've been getting good results using tenderloin cuts seared on a cast iron pan, then broiled in the oven. I think the missus and I generally follow Alton Brown's recipe.

I could really go for a steak right now. It's just too bad my gut's in knots with some kind of stomach bug that the thought of meat is making me sick. Ugh.

A perfectly seared pan-fried steak is often better than grilled. The crust is just one continuous surface of salt and pepper and browned crispy meat goodness. I just think it stinks up the house and splatters fat all over the range top.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

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A perfectly seared pan-fried steak is often better than grilled. The crust is just one continuous surface of salt and pepper and browned crispy meat goodness. I just think it stinks up the house and splatters fat all over the range top.

That's true. The house does stink for quite a while, and I always have to disable the smoke detector.